Is My July's People a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, Ravan Press / Taurus, Johannesburg, 1981
• Hardcover, octavo, dust jacket
• The South African edition was published to reach local readers and was promptly banned by the apartheid regime
• UK (Jonathan Cape) and US (Viking) editions appeared the same year, 1981, and are treated as near-simultaneous

How Ravan Press / Taurus marked a first edition

• Copyright page reads 'First published [year] by Ravan Press (Pty) Ltd' (Johannesburg); the first printing carries the first-published year with no reprint notice.
• No number line — South African / British 'First published' convention; later printings add 'Reprinted [year]'.

Full Ravan Press / Taurus first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

Dealer consensus treats the Ravan Press / Taurus South African edition of 1981 as the true first, with Jonathan Cape (UK) and Viking (US) as concurrent same-year issues rather than the priority printing. The original record's preference for Jonathan Cape as the true first is reversed here.P-022129

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Jonathan Cape (UK) and Viking (US), both 1981, are near-simultaneous editions but are not given priority over the Ravan / Taurus South African issue. Later Penguin paperbacks are reprints.P-022130

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of July's People a first edition?

A first edition of July's People by Nadine Gordimer (Ravan Press / Taurus) is identified by: First edition, Ravan Press / Taurus, Johannesburg, 1981.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. Dealer consensus treats the Ravan Press / Taurus South African edition of 1981 as the true first, with Jonathan Cape (UK) and Viking (US) as concurrent same-year issues rather than the priority printing.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Jonathan Cape (UK) and Viking (US), both 1981, are near-simultaneous editions but are not given priority over the Ravan / Taurus South African issue. Later Penguin paperbacks are reprints.

I have a first edition of July's People — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.